Coronation Street – Skirtingroundmylife

In this poem I travel back in time to 1973 and in particular to the winter of that as I recall a time of pre teen dreams and why power cuts and the miners strike were my first real introduction to politics and the fact that though neither of them were Tories my mum and dad had very different visions of the future. I’ve titled it Homework By Candlelight I hope you enjoy the read.

Homework By Candlelight

It was a cold winter that year
frosty mornings commonplace
as I recall
it was worse in the fog
for someone with a tendency to fall
more often than I’d like
the miners strike
meant homework by candlelight
my mother moaned that some nights
she would miss coronation street
she seemed to think that this twice a week treat
was her connection to her sister in Manchester
I was more of a top of the pops fan myself
well I was naive enough to dream
having not yet reached my teens
of a kinder more equal world
I kept my girlhood quiet
though hormones ran riot
at a time of conflicting emotions
in a home where colours were displayed
that had nothing to do with football

In this poem I pay my tribute to the Scotland Women’s Football Team who got off to a great start to the European Championship Campaign with an 8-0 over Cyprus. Though five goal hero Kim Little will justifiably gain most of the headlines, Kim as much as anyone knows that this was a team performance and said so when she was presented with her player of the game award. I’ve given it the title Five Star Show I hope you enjoy the read

Five Star Show

Edinburgh
on the first Friday after the Fringe
the revellers have departed
and tourists stopped taking pictures
the place seems quieter than it’s been
but on this night Easter Road
is the place to be seen
if you like your football female
our girls our game tells you
all you need to know about why this matters
It’s our first qualifyer in the European Championship
Cyprus are the visitors
in a game we’re expected to win
Injury rules this supporter out
from taking my seat in the stand
we take command from the start
though I miss large parts of the early action
due to my flatmate and her addiction to soaps
thankfully I catch our opening goal
Claire Emslie scored during the commercial break
by the time I switched back we’d scored again
and would soon make it three
before we reached half time
as I settled down to the second half
I knew I would miss the early part
to watch events on a cobbled street
in which Scott Sinclair’s wife
has a part she plays well
by the time that was over we were five goals up
and the Kim Little show had begun
this girl was having fun
and this was a Scotland team without Erin
the golden bairn and the star of our world cup campaign
but on a dreich damp Friday
our girls were raining goals
and Kim’s last two were sublime
finally Caroline wrapped up the story
of a glorious start on the road
to qualification
our girls know there will be tougher games to come
but this was job done and in this post festival performance
it’s fair to say
that though Kim got the headlines
for her five star show
she knows the value of teamwork